


Eyes

by LittensTinyMittens (Onasariel)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 13:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16933800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onasariel/pseuds/LittensTinyMittens
Summary: When Gwaine ended up living with the Ambrosius family, he never expected to fall for their son.He never expected his feelings to be returned, either.





	Eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nebula5030](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebula5030/gifts).



> Set in the same au as [Crashing Down](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16703647/chapters/39175795), this is a glimpse into the happy future! A gift for [Nebula5090](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nebula5030). This was beta'ed by the lovely [Dazzledfirestar!!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzledfirestar/pseuds/Dazzledfirestar)

Gwaine was not usually a man who stayed in one place for very long, but as he sat by the stream and watched Merlin splash around, trying to catch fish, he reflected on the past year.

When he arrived in Engerd, one of the biggest warnings he received was about the so-called demons in the forest. He laughed them off as village legends and ignored them, at least until he needed to make an escape from a few angry gamblers who couldn’t take a loss well. 

Just as he had hoped, the men didn’t follow him into that part of the forest. The problem was that he was left with a dagger in his leg and no one to help him. He cursed himself. This was a terrible idea in hindsight. He managed to make his way to a stream so he could attempt to patch himself up, not that he had much hope for survival.

It was then Merlin appeared.

Gwaine thought he was hallucinating at first. It made sense, he was already injured, bleeding out; he was probably going to die, right? There was no way that a man with horns, wings, sharp nails, and patches of scales was actually standing in front of him. That was impossible.

He blacked out. The last thing he saw was golden eyes with slitted pupils staring down at him.

Waking up again was an interesting event. He thought Hunith was the one who found him and took him in at first and all seemed well. At least, it was until he realized who was standing behind her, glaring down at the human who invaded his home.

Unlike Hunith, who was a normal, friendly looking human, Balinor was terrifying. Merlin may be slightly taller than his father, but Balinor was far more muscular than his smaller son. He had been standing behind Hunith, arms crossed and wings spread out in an attempt to make himself seem larger. It worked. With his dark horns, massive wings, patches of black scales. His gold eyes were full of rage and hate, and he had elongated fingers with sharp nails on the end. Topped off with a long tail that was swishing angrily, Gwaine genuinely thought that the legends had been correct and there was a demon in this forest. 

As it turned out Balinor was a dragonlord, not a demon, and it was Merlin that saved his life. Gwaine was not an ungrateful man, and such a debt had to be repaid.

Hunith and Merlin managed to convince Balinor to let Gwaine stay, and even though he had supposedly repaid his debt...Gwaine never left. He was a wanderer at heart, yet there was something about the Ambrosius family’s cottage that screamed ‘home’, and he had nearly been here a year.

He smiled as Merlin approached him with two cooked fish, holding one out for Gwaine. He hadn’t even noticed the young man cooking their lunch and shifting back to his human form. 

“Thanks,” Gwaine said as he took the fish. It was crispy and cooked to perfection. He took a bite and let out a content sigh. Merlin sat down beside him and began to nibble at his own meal. 

“What are you thinking about?” Merlin asked. Gwaine glanced at him and blinked.

“Oh?” he said.

“You looked like you were deep in thought.”

“I guess I was. I was just thinking about how long I’ve stayed here. I don’t normally stay in one place like this.”

“Oh...are you thinking of leaving?” Merlin asked. Gwaine felt his heart break at the sadness in Merlin’s voice. He knew he loved his parents dearly, but surely their solitary existence could be a lonely one and having someone around that was his own age was a blessing.

“No, no! Don’t worry, I’m not. I actually really like it here. It’s a nice place to live,” Gwaine insisted. Merlin sighed in relief and leaned against him. 

Gwaine felt his cheeks heating up. After spending a year with the dragonlords, he wasn’t surprised by such gestures. The dragonlords had been communal creatures and they enjoyed being close to each other, even if the gesture was meant as a friendly one, not romantic. Balinor once explained that they used to huddle together in their dragon forms for warmth too, though it was harder with Merlin since his dragon form was so small. 

“I’m glad. I don’t want you to leave, I like having you here,” Merlin said. 

“Don’t you worry, I plan to stay as long as your father will let me,” Gwaine said with a chuckle. 

“Father will let you stay. I know he doesn’t say it, but he likes you. I can tell by his eyes.”

Gwaine furrowed his eyebrows. Merlin was known to say some pretty strange things once and awhile, but this was new. 

“What do you mean?” Gwaine asked. Perhaps Merlin was able to see something that he couldn’t, or there was some aspect of Dragonlord anatomy that he wasn’t aware of. Merlin gave him a bright smile in return.

“Our pupils change size when we’re around people we like. If Father wasn’t happy, they would be small. When he’s around you, they’re medium sized so that means he’s content and feels safe. They’re a bit larger when he’s with me, but you should see them when he’s looking at Mother!” Merlin explained. His smile turned brighter. 

“When he’s looking at Mother, you can barely see the gold in his eyes because his pupils are so big!”

Gwaine began to laugh. It wasn’t that he was taunting Balinor; oh no, the mental image was just too amusing. He knew the Dragonlord could be gruff and rough around the edges, but he did smile brightly and look at Hunith as if she was the one who put the moon and stars in the sky. Gwaine just hadn’t noticed the size of his pupils before. 

His laughter stopped and his cheeks turned red when he looked into Merlin’s eyes.

His pupils were huge. The only sign of gold was the small ring around the large, black circles. How had he not noticed this before?!?

Did this mean…?

Gwaine looked away. It wasn’t that Merlin wasn’t attractive, it was quite the opposite. Merlin was a _very_ handsome young man, but since Gwaine realized he had feelings for him in the winter, he had --wrongly, it seemed--, assumed that there was no way that Merlin could return them. 

“Gwaine? Are you okay?” Merlin asked, tugging on his sleeve. Gwaine took a deep breath and turned back to Merlin. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was frowning, but his eyes were still huge.

“Yeah, I am. So...your eyes get big when you look at someone you love, yeah? Is there another reason why that would happen?” Gwaine asked, trying to regain his composure. 

“No, not that I know of. Why?” Merlin replied, shaking his head. 

Gwaine swallowed heavily. “Because yours are huge right now,” he said.

It was Merlin’s turn to go bright red. He covered his face and looked away.

“I’m sorry! I thought I could control it! You probably think I’m a freak now,” he said. 

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s okay!” Gwaine insisted. The red had returned to his own cheeks. He mentally cursed himself for his lack of tact. “It’s okay,” he repeated softly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just surprised.”

He took a deep breath and reached out, placing a gentle hand on Merlin’s shoulder. Merlin looked up, tears threatening to fall from his beautiful eyes. Gwaine closed his own for a moment before opening them. He never thought that he would be confessing his love, but it was now or never.

“I was surprised because I didn’t think you would ever return my feelings,” he said. “That _is_ why your pupils are huge, right?”

Gwaine watched Merlin closely. He was silent for a long, tense minute before he smiled.

“Yes, Gwaine, it is why,” he said. 

Before Gwaine had a chance to reply, Merlin leaned forward and gently kissed him. Gwaine’s eyes widened as Merlin pulled away, blushing and giving him a small smile. 

Gwaine really hadn’t expected his day to go like this. He grinned, grabbing Merlin’s cheeks and pulling him in for another kiss.

When they broke away so they could breathe again, Merlin began to laugh, and Gwaine joined in. Merlin’s laugh was quickly becoming his favourite sound in the world. He had always loved how Merlin’s eyes would crinkle up into little half moons when he was happy. It was the image of pure joy.

The new lovers finally settled down after a few minutes. Merlin flopped against Gwaine, resting his head on his chest. 

“I thought you’d never return my feelings too, you know, that’s why I tried to hide my eyes,” he mumbled. Gwaine took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Don’t worry about it anymore. That time is behind us now. We should focus on the future,” he said. 

“The future…” Merlin mused, “I think it will be a very bright one.”

“Me too,” Gwaine nodded, kissing the top of Merlin’s head. “Me too.”


End file.
